Educational appliance.



R. F. SMITH.

EDUCATIONAL APPLIANCE. APPLICATION FILED asp-1214, 1909.

Patented July 12, 1910.

tional Appliances, of

RAYMOND F. SMITH, F ALLEG-ANY, NEW YORK.

EDUCATIONAL APPLIANCE.

964,064, Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 12, 1910,

Application filed September 14, 1909. Serial N 0. 517,663.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND F. SMITH, citizen of the United States, residing at llegany, in the county of Cattaraugus and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Educawhich the following is preferably formed of ounted upon the guiding rod are a series move easily nection 7 is the balls 6 and at its other end is attached a specificatlon.

y invention relates to educational appli- 10 ances and particularly to an appliance for to any suitable fixed point. This e astic c0nteaching pupils to recognize quickly the total nection might have the form of a coil sprin number or the total character of a number ut is shown as a rubbor cold under sumof units in a group of similar objects. oient tension to hold the balls 6 behind the The object of the invention is to provide screen 4:- The end of the rubber cord 7 is means for training the pupils to the quick attached by a staple 8 to the forward ball recognition of the total number of objects It will be seen that with the rubber cold in a group without resorting to counting, under tension the balls 6 Will be normall and also to exercise and train the faculties held behind the screen but may be advanced of perception and visualization, thereby ininto the open space between the screen and creasing the power of the pupils mind parsupport 3 enever they are released ticularly in the direction of alertness and from being held before this open space the accuracy of observation to form clear mental retractile connection 7 will draw the balls concepts. back to their reverse position. The re- .Broadly the invention consists of means tractile connection 7 is provided at its end for supporting any desired number of obwith a hook 9 whereby the cord is connected jects before the eyes of the pup1ls and then to the staple 8 so that the cord may be decausing certain ob ects to disappear behind tached from the first ball 6 In the praca screen before the pupils have had time to tical use of this form of my invention the count the objects one at a time or to observe teacher exposes to the view of the pupils the the character of each ob ect taken separatel number of balls desired, by sliding the balls or a full understandin of the invention along the rod and thereby extending the reference is to be had to the following deretractile cord 7. WV hen released the balls scription and accompanying drawings, in immediately fiy back to their original posiw ichrtion. The spring or elastic cord 7 accom- Figure l is a perspective view of my applishes the removal of the object before the pliance showing its manner of operation, pupil has had time to count them one at a Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View of the time Thus the pupils are taught to recogappliance, Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional nize the number of objects in a group withview showing a modified form of the appliout resorting to individual counting. The

40 ance, and F 1g. 4 IS a detailed perspective pupil thereby learns to quickly associate the View showing the hooked connection between number symbols with conciete objects and the elastic cord and the end ball. thus the symbols are rendered more tangible Corresponding and like parts are referred than they otherwise would be. en the to in the following description and indipupil is called upon to visualize, the concated in all the views of the drawing by ception of the number which he will then the same reference characters. have will have reference to the concrete as Referring to these figures 2 designates a opposed to the abstract. base-plate of any suitable frame having at e purpose of the hook 9, whereby the each end the supports 3 and 3 Extending elastic connection 7 may be disengaged f1 0m from the support 3 along the front edge of the first ball is to permit the teacher to conthe base plate 2 and nearly to the support duct a drill in addition and subtraction. 3 is the screen 4. There will thus be left i For instance, if four balls are exposed to an open space between the extremity of the I view the question may be asked Four and screen 4 and the support 3 Extending two equal how many? By putting out two 5 from one support to the other is the rigid more in addition to the four already in guiding rod 5 of any suitable character but sight, the answer will be verified. My deframe forming a screen, a fixed guide extending entirely across the frame, a plurality of objects independently movable on the guide, and means for quickly withdrawing any number of the objects behind the screen.

3. An educational appliance comprising a frame having a sight opening therethrough, said frame forming a screen, means for supporting any desired number of objects upon said frame but out of view through the sight opening and permitting any number of the objects to be moved opposite the sight opening, and 'denly retracting any vice, is therefore, adapted to be used either in the manner of an abacus for addition and subtraction or as a means for training the perceptions and exercising the pupil in retentiveness or what may be termed persistence of mental vision.

Another form of my invention is shown in Fig. 3. In place of a frame supporting the bar 5 with a plurality of balls there is shown a frame supporting a plurality of rods, each rod having thereon a series of sliding objects, the elastic connection being made to the first object of each series. The sliding objects in the drawing are shown as blocks having thereon letters which have been previously arranged upon the guiding rods so as to spell words. In detail the frame consists of the end supports 13 and the base 12, the screen 14:, a plurality of rods .15 and the blocks 16 mounted on the rods. The first block of each series of blocks is connected to the end support 13 by means of an elastic cord 17 or other suitable elastic retractile connection. The space between the screen 1 1 and the means for suc desired number of the objects exposed from behind the sight opening.

4E. An educational appliance comprising a frame, a screen extending partly across the frame and leaving a sight opening beyond the screen, a fixed guide mounted on the frame, behind the screen, and extending entirely across and beyond the screen, a series of independent sliding objects mount ed upon the guide, and an elastic yielding connection between the first one of said objects and a portion of the frame behind the screen.

5. An educational appliance of the character described comprising a base, supports mounted at opposite ends of the base, a screen extending from one of the supports nearly to the other support, a guide ro mounted at opposite ends on said supports, a plurality of objects slidably mounted on the guide rod and an elastic retractile connection attached at one end to a portion of the frame behind the screen, the other end of the connection being attached to the face of the series of objects.

6. An appliance of the character described comprising a frame, a screen extending partly across the same, a guide rod extending entirely across the frame, a series of objects mounted on the guide rod and adapted to be shifted into the space between the end of the screen and the adjacent frame, an elastic connection attached at one end to the frame behind the screen, a hook on the other end of said elastic connection and means for engaging said hook with any one of sai ob ects.

7. An educational appliance of the character described comprising a frame having opposed supports, a screen extending partly between said supports, a longitudinal rod extending between said supports, a plurality of objects shiftably mounted, and a spring acting to move said objects behind the screen and yielding to permit the objects to be moved into the space beyond the screen.

8. An educational appliance of the character described comprising a frame, a screen covering one en of the frame, a plurality of rods mounted upon the frame, sets of objects slidably mounted on end support 13 18 of course sufficient to exhibit the series of blocks as they are drawn out behind the screen. Elastic connections 17 are attached to the foremost block of each series by means of the hooks 18 and staples 19 as before described.

It will be seen that the same faculties are to a large extent exercised by the construction just described as were exercised with the previously described device, namely, the pupils learn to see an aggregation of objects as a whole and not merely as individual units. They learn to recognize these combinations of separate units by their combinational characteristics and not their individual characteristics. By using a plurality of balls or blocks it will be seen that comparisons and contrasts may be made between one word and another, just as in the use of the former device the pupils were asked to distinguish between one number of balls and another number.

While I have found that the simple construction here shown to be very efiective in use I do not wish to limit myself to these details, as it will be obvious that the spirit of my invention may be embodied in a large number of difierent forms.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is 1. An educational appliance including a frame having a sight opening therethrough, means for supportlng any desired number of objects upon said frame but out of view through the sight opening and permitting. any number of the objects to be moved opposite the sight opening,

and means for suddenly retracting the objects from the sight opening.

2. An educational appliance comprising a frame having a sight opening therein, said each of the rods and springs for moving said objects behind one end to the frame behind the screen, and

the screen but yielding to permit the objects means whereby the free end of said connec to be moved into the space beyond the screen. tion may be detachably engaged to any one 9. An educational a pliance comprising a of the said sliding objects.

5 frame, a screen exten mg partly across the In testimony whereof I affix my signature 10' frame and leaving a sight opening beyond in presence 0 two witnesses.

the screen, a guide rod mounted on the frame RAYMOND F. SMITH. [L. 3.] and extending entirely across it, a series of lVitnesses: independent sliding objects mounted on the JOHN A. RYAN,

10 guide rod, an elastic connection attached at HARRY M. KRAMPF. 

